The Bible is a book that deals with the pass, the present, and the future. There are many books that deal with Biblical Prophecy. We are going to start our study in the Book of Daniel. This book not only gives us prophecy, but it gives us many examples of how we should live as Christians.
Daniel came to Babylon as a teenager and stayed until he was past eighty. Through all those years of captivity, he was a leading official in three kingdoms. As he walked the halls of the palaces, he could watch how God worked in the lives of kings. Daniel was there to see the ruthless Nebuchadnezzar at work. The story of Daniel is a great example of a man who was able to navigate through the waters of both adversity and prosperity. But how did he do it? I believe that Daniel was able to stay strong throughout the times of adversity and prosperity because his faith was anchored in the sovereignty of God. Daniel believed that God had everything in control, and that He was orchestrating all the events in the world around him to accomplish His purposes and to declare His glory. Nothing can happen to you unless God wills it. In order to have the joy in our life, we need to be more like Daniel.
What Jesus said about the prophet John the Baptist, we could say about the prophet Daniel. Jesus said that John the Baptist was not a reed shaken in the wind. Both prophets were strong and stable in their walk with God. Daniel stood firm in the faith and dared to be different. Instead of bending and blending like a reed, he stood like a mighty oak, rooted in the Lord and defying the storms of change that raged about him. Today’s society is a good deal like the one Daniel lived in centuries ago. The world still wants God’s people to conform to its standards and follow its practices. “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold” is the way J. B. Phillips translates Romans 12:2, and Daniel and his friends obeyed that admonition. We should obey it today. We need Christians who have the faith and courage to be strong and stable.
“Without hope, prophecy is a useless glimpse of the doom to come. With hope, prophecy is a useful picture of the glory to come.” (David Jeremiah)